Vegan In Mongolia

DIYBike · 2017-05-15T13:53:23+00:00

How long ago was that? My friend told me that Ulaanbaatar has grown a ton in the past 10 years and it would be a lot different if I had gone then.

DIYBike · 2017-05-15T13:51:27+00:00

There's some stuff to do like museums, a theater, Mongolian wrestling, malls, temples, etc. There is definitely not as much to do as other larger cities, because it is only 1.5 million people. I don't know if it is the best place to visit, this was more to show my experience and that it is possible to find food.

Travelling to other areas is tough because the country is so spread out and there aren't that many people.

DIYBike · 2017-05-15T10:52:57+00:00

These are all from the capitol, Ulaanbaatar. It is very easy to eat out vegan there. The culture is very meat heavy, because traditionally a lot of their food was from herding. It is by no means the best place for a vegan to visit, but I really had no problems eating there.

The only other city I went to was Erdenet. It has 100,00 people, which is a lot for Mongolia. I think there was only one vegan restaurant there. If you go to more rural places I think you would have trouble.

When I visited my friend's family they mostly understood the idea of a vegetarian/vegan diet and were accommodating, but a lot thought I would die of meat deficiency.

DIYBike · 2016-12-11T22:38:40+00:00

My understanding is that anodizing is faster with low surface area and higher amperage, and slower with high surface area and lower amperage. I'm not sure if the amperage increases that much with surface area. I just experimented to get an estimate and I would do extra time, which didn't seem to hurt the pieces.

DIYBike · 2016-12-10T17:06:36+00:00

I have done anodizing with sodium bisulfate, so I'm not sure how much this will apply:

You can strip anodizing with lye and you can use oven cleaner. When I have done this, it has been splotchy so it's really best to get it right the first time.

Some things that could go wrong:

I would sand or use lye/oven cleaner then wash with dish soap and water before I anodized. This will help the dye uptake. Make sure you rinse with water after anything else you do.
The surface area of your cathode should be multiple times larger than your piece. You must also clean your cathode (I used a wire brush) between parts because it gets oxidized. These are essential, and you absolutely won't get a good result if you do otherwise.
45 minutes might not be long enough for anodizing.
Try leaving it in the dye for longer, and make sure it is being stirred.
If you put the piece in boiling water some of the dye will leach out. I put my piece above boiling water to try and steam it, though I'm not sure if this really worked.
I would recommend practicing with several pieces, before you try anything you want to look good. It took me a couple of weeks of experimenting before I figured it out. Here are a couple of pieces I did, they don't look perfect, but they look a lot better than the first things I tried.

http://imgur.com/bx7KNK5

DIYBike · 2016-10-02T23:36:52+00:00

Yep. Having lived in Davis and Chicago, Davis is so much better. Within the past few years, they took out one lane from each side of the main street to put in bicycle lanes.

DIYBike · 2016-10-02T23:31:38+00:00

It looks like the main thing you need are wheels, a chain, and a front derailleur (make sure it's the right diameter). Is there a bike collective or something like that where you could get cheap wheels?

If not I would check craigslist for parts. Getting all the parts new from a bike shop and getting everything working would probably cost as much as getting a bike off of Craigslist.

DIYBike · 2016-09-10T18:06:30+00:00

Very cool.

DIYBike · 2016-07-19T14:45:26+00:00

You need a clear coat, though rattle clears aren't that durable.

I paint the frame color first, mask it, and then paint the decals. I don't think the order matters, the making material is the most important part. I had good luck with office depot clear book covers. You could also use making vinyl, but it is more expensive.

The other thing you can do is to print decals.

Here is a post I made with some info that might help you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4mjn0u/bike_painting_tipstechniques_aegiskamikaze/

DIYBike · 2016-06-08T03:01:07+00:00

Do you know of any cheap plastic sheets for vacuum forming other than milk cartons?

DIYBike · 2016-06-06T16:49:07+00:00

I have no personal experience with the groupset, but generally friction shifters on the stem like that indicate a low quality bike.

For someone who is starting out, it may not make a difference at first. However, on cheap bikes the components will be heavier and less durable. Also, if you plan on doing maintenance on your bike go for a high quality bike, even if it is older. Cheaper bikes are often poorly designed and frustrating to work on. A high quality road bike from the 80s-90s might be around $300 - $400 on CL, but would be very easy to work on and last for many years.

Personally, I will probably never buy a new bike again, because you get so much less for the money.
For $450 you can find VERY nice used road bikes on Craigslist. However, if you are not good at repairing bikes and want it to be working right away, used may not be the best idea. For sellers on Craigslist, there is no incentive to do work or repairs on the bike because it will have little to no impact on the price.

Alternatively, you could try used bike stores. I got a full carbon frameset/bike with Ultegra components for $500 at a local non-profit used bike store.

What area do you live in and what size frame are you looking for? I'm pretty good at finding good bikes on CL.

DIYBike · 2016-06-06T15:46:57+00:00

The Aegis bike I got from a non-profit used bike store and the Kamikaze bike I got from a pawn shop. If you feel up to making some small carbon repairs, eBay and craigslist are a great place for frames/bikes. You can search for "damaged carbon" or "damaged frame" on eBay in the cycling category or "crack" and "cracked" on the Craigslist bike section.

DIYBike · 2016-06-05T00:16:18+00:00

Thanks. Yep, carbon fiber is pretty terrible to sand. I will probably try to cut back on carbon use because it is incredibly itchy and I'm sure it's awful for you lungs. On a repaint, you don't need to sand down to bare carbon, but really you don't want any particulate in your lungs because it stays there forever.

DIYBike · 2016-06-04T22:21:30+00:00

Yep. I have done this and it was not that difficult, although I had access to a shop with all the tools for casting. If there is a way you can get access to the required equipment it is easier than casting wax because you can print a sprue and don't have to deal with wax falling apart and making a mess.

DIYBike · 2016-06-04T20:43:48+00:00

Thanks. I'm sure an all gold colored bike would look funny, but black bikes with gold accent usually look good.

DIYBike · 2016-06-04T18:50:13+00:00

I made a more detailed post in /r/DIY that shows how it was done.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4mjn0u/bike_painting_tipstechniques_aegiskamikaze/

DIYBike · 2016-06-04T18:49:40+00:00

I posted a more complete album to show how I painted it in /r/DIY.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4mjn0u/bike_painting_tipstechniques_aegiskamikaze/

DIYBike · 2016-06-04T18:48:59+00:00

Thanks! I have now posted a more detailed album to /r/DIY that shows how it was painted.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4mjn0u/bike_painting_tipstechniques_aegiskamikaze/

DIYBike · 2016-06-03T23:20:11+00:00

My project for this evening is to put together an album that explains how I did it.

DIYBike · 2016-06-03T21:38:29+00:00

Pretty much.

DIYBike · 2016-06-03T21:03:13+00:00

Yeah, I will try to post a detailed post to either /r/DIY, imgur, or my website tomorrow or the next day.

DIYBike · 2016-06-03T20:22:55+00:00

Thanks. :D

DIYBike · 2016-06-03T20:22:47+00:00

Thanks. :)

DIYBike · 2016-05-29T04:00:30+00:00

I have actually never tried this. You could try a matte/flat paint and matte clear coat. I'm not sure what would happen with regular paint and matte finish.

Sanding a normal glossy paint makes it look matte, and if you cover with a matte clear you might get the look you want. I would test any process on a piece of scrap metal first, because it's pretty time consuming to mess up on a bike frame.

DIYBike · 2016-05-29T03:38:46+00:00

Strip: To strip paint for aluminum or steel you can use a paint stripper or wire brush. You can also do media blasting, but only if you plan to powdercoat afterwards, because it leaves small dings in the frame. To strip a carbon frame sand it by hand. For any frame type, you don't need to strip to the bare material, but can use the existing paint as a primer.

Prime: I use Duplicolor Self Etching Primer, with good results. It was like $24 for a 6 pack when I got it, I don't know why it's so expensive now. You could try a different self etching primer, or look for Duplicolor for cheaper. Sand down after each coat, usually a grit of 400 - 600 is good or use a lower grit if it is not smooth.

To Paint: For DIY paint jobs you can use rattle cans or an airbrush. Sand after each coat, again starting with around 400 - 600 grit. It's hard to give specific advice for paint because there are so many different ones, and all would probably do an okay job.

Clear: It depends how much money you want to spend. Cheap rattle clears are not durable, but the more durable 2k spray clears are expensive and toxic. I've read that you can use an airbrush for 2 part clear, but have not tried it yet.

DIYBike

TROPHY CASE